ERIC Number: EJ782200
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1081-3004
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
What Could Professional Wrestling and School Literacy Practices Possibly Have in Common?
Alvermann, Donna E.; Huddleston, Andrew; Hagood, Margaret C.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v47 n7 p532-540 Apr 2004
At first glance, any connection between professional wrestling and school-based literacy practices might seem far-fetched, or incongruous at best. This seeming incongruity, however, is what intrigues the authors most. It is also what drives them to wonder if governmental and media sources that regularly proclaim a crisis in literacy achievements might be overlooking some potentially rich intersections between young people's personal and school literacies. In this article, the authors look at their data sources not across some arbitrary divide that separates adults' uses of popular culture from those of young people, but rather through the lens of the user--the individual who, regardless of generational label, participates daily in a technologically mediated environment, one rich with texts of all kinds (visual, iconic, digital, and print). They specifically focus on the uses of popular culture texts embedded in the discursive practices that make up the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW)--practices that have the potential to inform how one thinks about personal and school literacies, including whether the two might intersect at times.
Descriptors: Popular Culture, Literacy, Athletics, Units of Study, Secondary Education, Literature, Elementary Education, Video Games, Student Attitudes, Adolescent Attitudes, Educational Principles, Discourse Analysis, Media Research, Instructional Innovation, English Instruction, Adolescents
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A